Head-To-Head Comparison: John B. Sanfilippo & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS) vs. Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA)

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) and John B. Sanfilippo & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Seneca Foods and John B. Sanfilippo & Son’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Seneca Foods	5.58%	12.30%	6.65%
John B. Sanfilippo & Son	6.15%	19.54%	11.71%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Seneca Foods and John B. Sanfilippo & Son”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Seneca Foods	$1.58 billion	0.63	$41.22 million	$13.00	11.25
John B. Sanfilippo & Son	$1.11 billion	0.81	$58.93 million	$5.99	12.85

John B. Sanfilippo & Son has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Seneca Foods. Seneca Foods is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than John B. Sanfilippo & Son, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Seneca Foods and John B. Sanfilippo & Son, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Seneca Foods	0	0	1	0	3.00
John B. Sanfilippo & Son	0	2	1	0	2.33

John B. Sanfilippo & Son has a consensus target price of $109.00, indicating a potential upside of 41.60%. Given John B. Sanfilippo & Son’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe John B. Sanfilippo & Son is more favorable than Seneca Foods.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

42.5% of Seneca Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.6% of John B. Sanfilippo & Son shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.4% of Seneca Foods shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 30.2% of John B. Sanfilippo & Son shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Seneca Foods has a beta of 0.02, meaning that its share price is 98% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, John B. Sanfilippo & Son has a beta of 0.35, meaning that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

John B. Sanfilippo & Son beats Seneca Foods on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Seneca Foods

Seneca Foods Corporation provides packaged fruits and vegetables in the United States and internationally. The company offers canned, frozen, and jarred produce; jarred fruit; and snack chips and other food products under the private label, as well as under various national and regional brands that the company owns or licenses, including Seneca, Libby’s, Aunt Nellie’s, Cherryman, Green Valley, and READ. In addition, it packs canned and frozen vegetables under contract packing agreements. Further, the company engages in the sale of cans, ends, and seeds, as well as trucking and aircraft operations. It provides its products to grocery outlets, including supermarkets, mass merchandisers, limited assortment stores, club stores, and dollar stores; specialty retailers; and food service distributors, restaurant chains, industrial markets, other food packagers, and export customers in approximately 55 countries, as well as federal, state, and local governments for school and other feeding programs. Seneca Foods Corporation was incorporated in 1949 and is headquartered in Fairport, New York.

About John B. Sanfilippo & Son

John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. engages in the processing and distribution of nuts and nut-related products. It offers peanuts, pecans, cashews, walnuts, almonds, and other nuts under the brands of Fisher, Orchard Valley Harvest, Squirrel Brand, and Southern Style Nuts. The company was founded by Gaspare Sanfilippo and John B. Sanfilippo in 1922 and is headquartered in Elgin, IL.